Round 1 closed/feedback post

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The first round is closed! I was beyond thrilled at the enthusiastic response. Thank you all for taking interest and participating!

There will be another round beginning sometime this month, the latest September 30th, but I'm hoping to get some feedback first.

Any and all responses are much appreciated. No pressure to answer all of them, just whatever comes to mind.

1. Timeline: The first round went on for 4 months. Is that a good amount of time? Too long? Too short? I can't imagine it being less than 3, but let me know what you think.

2. Prompt suggestions: if you have any, feel free to drop them in, even if there are certain categories you would like to see more of.

3. Any other feedback/suggestions for future rounds

I got an interesting suggestion in the beginning of sign-ups and I wanted to see what everyone thought. One person put out there that people who are signing up to give feedback may love it themselves and offered the idea to put an 'other participants work' as a prompt. Of course that would involve making a separate list of people who want to opt in to make it easier and go from there.

What do you all think? Is it something you would be interested in? Let me know!

Comments

[argentum_ls]

4 months worked great for me. I still found myself cramming stories at the end, but that was a failure to strategize problem and not a time problem.

I'd be in for an "other participants work" option.

Maybe also an option to swap two squares on a card. Like, if you get a prompt in the upper right corner you can't work with, you could trade its location with another prompt on the same card?

Thank you for running this! It worked beautifully at being me to comment more.

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I was originally only planning 2-3 rounds a year so 4 months is an ideal situation. And I do the same thing so you're not alone lol

Noted!

That's a good idea. It wasn't something I considered in the past, but now that I think about it, I am even fine with people swapping as many squares as they want. The point is to get more comments, not into the specifics.

You're welcome! I'm so glad you had a good time and it helped you comment. Thank you for the feedback and the suggestions!

[vegetablearian]

Thank you for running this :)

As long as people can get additional cards (I never got that far!), I think 6 months would be better. For me, this is about encouraging myself to comment on whatever halfway moves me to comment, and then seeing if that ticks a square. For people who are actually deciding what to read based on their card, I guess shorter would suit them more, but so would multiple cards per round, I hope?

Commenting on other participants sounds interesting. I don't think I would either opt in (nor would I opt out necessarily if you did it that way around instead) or want it on my card, but I might use the list to browse fics? It sounds like it could be annoying to maintain the list, though. Especially if no-one is using it properly haha, but I'm sure some people would.

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You're welcome! Thank you for participating!

Oh yeah, people can request as many cards as they want in the time frame. Okay, I will think about that. I was considering letting this next round just run until the end of the year regardless so that would be hopefully around 3.5 months (editing because apparently I can't do math). Maybe the 3rd round can be 6? I don't know what other people look for but you are likely right though your approach seems good too.

That could work too. I want to make sure I can get a decent amount of people willing to sign up at least so we have some variety on the list. The time consuming nature of the set up had me wary but if people are into it, I'm ready to figure it out. But yeah, I know what you mean about usage.

Thanks for the response!

[kingstoken]

I think having the option to substitute for up to two squares would be valuable, because sometimes you are getting near the end and you're having a lot of trouble finding a fanworks to fulfill a certain square, so if you had the option to substitute for a couple of squares that would really help.

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Good point! I can incorporate that into the next round. Someone also suggested being able to swap up to 2 squares, which I'm good with too.

Thank you for the feedback! :D

[that_mireille]

4 months was fine for me. Six would be better, but 4 is fine.

I really don't like the "other participants' work" option and will probably not sign up if there's a chance I'll get it on my square. Most prompts gave me a lot of freedom to read fic that specifically interested me (fandom/character/etc) and being restricted to a specific list of authors who may or may not have a lot of overlap with my interests isn't something I want to deal with.

[runpunkrun]

Yeah, for these same reasons, I would probably opt out of that square if it was added.

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Totally fair! And you will be able to opt out of it.

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Someone else suggested 6 too. I wanted this next round to run into the end of the year so it may be a shorter 3-3.5 (I messed up my math) but the third one can be 6.

Noted. I know that fandom wise it can be restrictive, and unless a decent amount of people are interested in signing up, it isn't going to be worth the effort for me to put together, but just like all the other prompts (should it be included), you are welcome to opt out of it.

Thanks for the feedback!

[bonibaru]

4 months was OK for me! I would not like to see it go longer, though, as I drifted away from it even for the last month. Longer challenges require more stamina and better memory, lol.

I'd love the chance to comment for other participants.

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Got it. I think this next one may be 3 (not 5; whoops shows how I have lost my grip on time!) just because I wanted it to go until the end of the year but I may just take a poll to get more feedback for next year. And true about longer challenges. I too forget about them.

Noted. So far it's still a mixed bag so I'll see.

Thanks for the feedback! :D

[runpunkrun]

4 months felt like plenty of time when I signed up, and then at the beginning of September was abruptly not enough. But I was taking a leisurely approach, leaving comments and then seeing if they fit my card, with only occasionally looking for a specific fill. I going for a blackout and had some sticky squares I couldn't fill (line art!!), and I'd slowed down a lot at the end. So I could go for a longer round, but 4 months is good too.

As for prompts, maybe some more location specific ones: leave a comment on Twitter, Dreamwidth; and maybe more types of fanworks, like squares specifically for fancrafts and cosplay.

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Oh yeah, the time can just fly, can't it? I would've thought that 4 months is long but it felt like the end came faster than I expected. The next round should be 3-3.5 (edited for the math error) just because I want to end on Dec 31st and I guess I can go from there, depending on feedback. There will be new rules like prompt swapping for the next round, which sounds as if it may help!

Those are good ideas! I may have to look for suggestions on where to find people/comms who post about those so it will be easier in terms of fancrafts and cosplay but it can be done for sure.

Thank you for the feedback and suggestions! :D

[runpunkrun]

Listen, I was fine with the idea that there were five months left in this year. That felt completely realistic. :D

This next round ending on Dec 31 is nice and neat, and sets you up well for next year, so I fully support it no matter what span of time it is.

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LOL at least I'm not alone! It just suddenly hit me hours later that 'wait, no, that isn't right' and I felt like a moron. Time makes no sense :D

That's what I was thinking too. I'm hoping to get the details done and the next round open by the 15th so we'll have the 3.5 months so fingers crossed!

[peasina]

Four months sounds like a good length to me, and I'd love a square for other participants! (Perhaps with the caveat that you can swap it out for a square of your choice if there's no one signed up whose fics interest you?)

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Noted! And it is definitely an opt out prompt so people are welcome to do so if it doesn't interest them. Also, I'm definitely strongly considering a swap out rule since someone above suggested it.

Thank you for the feedback! :D

[vriddy]

Four months worked well for me! 3 or 4 would suit in general. Once I got a first line after maybe 2 months, I sort of lost stamina and stopped checking the card when commenting (mostly because I knew I had filled in all of the ones that come up naturally in my reading habits :D).

Leaving a comment on other participants' works sounds fun, though if it's a lot more work from the organisational side it might not be so worth it.

Thank you for running this! I enjoyed it a lot and look forward to the next round :D

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Noted! And true, once challenges get too long, it is easy to forget/drift away. I think the next round will be 3-3.5 (edited because I realized my math error lol) just on the account that I would rather run it till Dec 31st and not stop in a middle of a time of the year where things get busy but I'll see about the third round. I might just put up a poll.

Yeah, so far, feedback is mixed but if I don't get enough people willing to sign up, it won't be worth the hassle for sure.

You're welcome! I'm glad that you had a good time. Looking forward to seeing you back. Thank you for participating and for the feedback! :D

[anonne]

Thank you for running this! I think the length of the round worked well.

Something that occurred to me as a possible source of prompts was themes/tropes, like freeform tags on AO3, or for things not on AO3 I suppose it could be left to the participant's discretion. So the prompt could be e.g. “a work containing angst”. Opt-out-able of course.

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No problem! Thanks for joining in! The next round may be a bit shorter actually because of when I want to end it but the third will be at least 4.

That could work! I will think about how to a those in. While there is a 'work that made you sad', that is more vague. And of course. I initially forgot to add in an opt out rule so I just threw out 5 when someone asked but next round, I'm just going to let people opt out as many as they want. As long as I can get 24 prompts, we're good to go.

Thank you for the feedback!

[adastra03]

Thank you for running such a fun challenge! I was able to complete my card pretty early this time because I was using this first round as motivation to leave comments on works I had saved, but not commented on yet. I think for Round 2, 4-5 months feels like a good length of time. I'm looking forward to filling up a lot of squares with those sweet sweet Yuletide 2022 works!

Seconding the request for prompts about different kinds of fanworks. Different sorts of crafts, cosplay, and fanmixes feel like they would be good options.

Here are a few more suggestions for possible bingo squares:

a work from your first fandom
a work from your newest fandom
a work from a fandom with a closed canon
a work from a fandom with an open/ongoing canon
a work from a fandom you don't normally seek out

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You're welcome! Thank you for participating! I am glad that it motivated you to read and comment on those works. It looks as if the next round will be shorter due to my preference of wanting it to end at the end of the year but the 3rd will be back to normal. Yuletide will definitely help! I can't believe it is almost time for noms. :D

Those are great options! Definitely will use all of them.

Thank you for the feedback and suggestions! :D

[peaked]

Thanks so much for running this round! I had a lot of fun going through works and finding the ones that knocked a square off of my card. I stretched my legs and found works that I otherwise would never have found. (I may have managed to increase my "Mark for Later" list, but you can't have it all!)

1. 4 months worked well for me since I didn't feel overly pressured to complete my card and could do so at a pace that suited me. I think if you went any less than that, it'd feel like a race more than a walk.

2. I personally really like the prompts that were about finding works from other challenges, from the same challenge, from specific years, and from people who have left kudos/comments before. I know I'd be up for finding works that fit AO3 tags as tobli suggested.

3. I do really like the fact that this is a relaxed bingo because the goal is to comment. I was intending to swap out some of my prompts because they weren't my style, and I like that I wouldn't have been disqualified for doing so since the point of the challenge is to comment, so I appreciate seeing in the comments this being reiterated.

4. I'd totally be up for opting into commenting on other participants' work. (I don't think this challenge is overly pressure-filled, which would make this prompt a comfortable one for me.)

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You're welcome! Thank you for participating! I'm glad that you had a good time, even if you increased your list. Glass half full: you have fics ready for the next round! :D

Because I can't do basic math and am in denial about how far we are into the year, I think the next round will be shorter (3.5 months hopefully) so I can close it at the end of the year but that won't be the norm. I definitely get how it could feel like a rush otherwise.

Okay, great, definitely keeping all the prompts already on the list and I will think about adding tag based ones too.

I do really like the fact that this is a relaxed bingo because the goal is to comment.
Yup, exactly. I don't want to be too strict and damper anyone's fun. I am going to broaden the rules a bit and you can swap out or move around your prompts too.

Noted! I think I will make a sign-up list this round to see how many people are interested and add the prompt in the next one, because of the time constraint.

Thanks for the feedback! :D

[spikedluv]

Thanks again for doing this!!

1. Four months worked for me (when I finished one table I just requested another). (Note: You mentioned '5' months several times in comments, but if you don't do another card until the end of this month, there's only going to be 3 months left.)

2. TBF I didn't read through the entire list since I didn't opt out of anything, but if there aren't more recent years (like in the 'fic from 2016' prompt), that would be nice to include. The latest I had on my cards was 2019. I liked the ao3 tags suggestion.

3. I'd just say, wrt the length of rounds, that you should do what works for you, since I'm sure this is a lot of work to manage. If it's easier to just do it twice a year, then go with 6 month rounds. Since we can request additional cards, it's no hardship for the participant who finishes their card. For the people who tend to lose interest/forget, perhaps there could be the occasional 'how's it going' post, or something where people can rec one of the fic they've included on their card? Something like that as a 'reminder' that their card exists. *g*

I don't mind the 'other participants work' square as I've been delving into fandoms I've never read before to leave FB. As someone else mentioned, would keeping up a list of the other participants with links to their fic be a pain for you?

[adastra03]

I love the idea of a prompt inviting us to rec one work we've commented on so far, as a fun way to keep the challenge on people's minds throughout the round. That would be super fun, both to read and to write, and it might inspire even more connections within the community of folks participating in the challenge (which seems like something folks are looking for with the "comment on a work by someone else playing bingo" request).

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I like the idea too and I will try to incorporate it in the next round! :D

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You're welcome! Thanks for participating! :D

Note: You mentioned '5' months several times in comments, but if you don't do another card until the end of this month, there's only going to be 3 months left.)
Yeah, I realized that a few hours after I had replied to everyone. Thank you though! And it will end up being a shorter round. I'm still hoping to start around mid September. But next year will go back to normal.

It's okay actually! There's a flurry of sign-ups in the beginning and then it trails off and I use a bingo card generator. I appreciate the consideration though. And a check in post with a rec is a great idea! Maybe once a month.

Noted! It shouldn't be too bad? I might just get a sign up list this round to see how much interest there is and add it in the next round, since there isn't as much time.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions! :D

[folk_melody]

Thank you for running this round! It helped me commenting on more stuff and I got to find some new works as well.
I think 4 months is plenty of time for getting a bingo.
I am ambivalent about 'other participants work'. I'd probably opt out of the prompt since there is a chance I wouldn't find a work with the fandom/ship/character of my preference but I think it's a good idea! On that note, I'd love it if the number of opt out prompts increased (maybe 6/7?)
I like the fandom specific prompts adastra03 suggested. Commenting on works from a past fandom, newest fandom, fandom with closed canon etc would be fun!

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You're welcome! Thanks for participating! I am glad that it helped motivate you. :D

Okay great! Next round will probably be between 3-3.5 but it will go back to longer from then on.

Noted. It would be an opt out prompt. I forgot to address opt outs before sign-ups opened so I threw out a number when someone asked but for the next round, it will definitely be open. As long as I can get 24 prompts, people can opt out as many as they want.

Good to know! I am definitely adding those. :D

Thanks for the feedback!

[fangirlishness]

Again, thank you for running the challenge! \o/

1. I thought the length of the challenge was fine (although I had wrongly remembered that it would run until the end of September, not the beginning, so I couldn't finish what I wanted and only got one line in the end). I don't think six months would be better, four sounds like a good length to me.

But no matter how many months there will be, 3, 4, or 6, I'd prefer it ending on the end of a month, because that's easiest to remember.

As to the next round, I personally think the end of December is a date already crammed with deadlines, so I would prefer the end of January.

2. I'd like to suggest these prompts:

By Creator - a work from a new creator (i.e. someone who has posted less than 10 stories on ao3)
(...or any other way you think one could distinguish a new creator? I just think specifically rewarding young/new creators is a good thing.)

Others - a work with an impressive title
(or a funny title, or... I don't know how to phrase this. Titles are hard and sometimes I am drawn to a story just because the author managed to give it an excellent title, and if that's what stands out, it could be a prompt? It's also relatively easy to find by randomly browsing.)

3. I'd be up for other participant's work as a prompt. It's a neat idea.

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You're welcome! Thanks for participating! :D

Totally fair. I wanted to go till the end of December so I could end at the end of the year but I have been slower to start this next round than I expected so it will likely end at the end of January now. I was just going an exact 4 months from the start date but it was a pretty random closing date.

All of those are great suggestions! I will make sure to add them. Maybe just an 'eye catching title'? And I am with you on titles are hard.

Noted. If there is interest, it will happen round 3.

Thank you for the feedback! :D

[fangirlishness]

Maybe just an 'eye catching title'?

Yes, eye-catching is a great way to put it! (I found a fic just today, by total accident, that would fit this category really well. :D)

I have one more thing: I see you allow this round to just kick prompts off the card and replace them with others... am I reading this right?

I find this contradicts the bingo spirit a little. I personally would be tempted to remove all the prompts from the card that I consider difficult, and I feel like I'd be defeating myself there? It should be challenging, and I should have to work with the card I get, that's the whole challenge about bingos.

That said, I don't see switching places of prompts on the card as that problematic. It's a little unusual, but okay for this kind of comm. There are so many prompts, the exact location on the card of each prompt makes little difference. (Although the longer I think about it, I would also be tempted to switch things around all the time to get the maximum number of bingos.)

I think, if they're allowed, those should probably be restricted to two or three, maybe? Just something to think about for round three. :)

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Ok good to hear!

Yes, you are reading it right.

Honestly, this is less about the challenge and more about encouraging people to comment, which is why it isn't like other bingos. It is just the format that works best. And you do need to use a prompt from the list, which I feel is restrictive enough. There's a reason it's described as laid back so you can make it as simple or hard as you want. Just the same way people can opt out of prompts, and some don't. And there are bingo comms, like allbingo that have people hosting a theme and then do let people come up with their own card. So I get where you're coming from and I hope this doesn't come off as rude, but it wasn't really my plan to make it too hard. If people want to manipulate the card so they can get as many bingos as they can, that is fine with me.

Thank you for the suggestion, but I doubt it's going to change. I don't want to go back and check their original cards to keep track.

[fangirlishness]

I hope this doesn't come off as rude

No, not at all. <3 I hope I didn't come off as rude. It's your comm.

I just let you know what I think - that it's demotivating/self-defeating for me personally to be able to change the card to that extent. But I'll just try to ignore that rule then and it'll be fine.

I don't want to go back and check their original cards to keep track.

That is a point I hadn't considered at all, and it's a very good one.

and then do let people come up with their own card

That is an option, too, of course. If you're at that point, letting people generate their own cards from the list of prompts would make sense to me, too.

Again, thank you for running the comm and giving your time to it (and then having to put up with participants throwing their opinions at you). <3

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No, you didn't. I do understand your concerns. I just worry I come off as blunt, which is pretty easy in writing.

Trust me, I do get it. I am the same way. If the rules get laid back, I tend to get ... less pressured, which is why I seem to only write fics these days when I have a set deadline lol

Unfortunately, it is just me running this thing so it is part making it easy on everyone and part making it easy on me. If it has been a different theme that was more like the regular bingos, I think I would have more rules like the established ones.

If you're at that point, letting people generate their own cards from the list of prompts would make sense to me, too.
I considered making this a mini round and doing that actually! Maybe in the future. I use a card generator anyway.

Oh yeah, no thanks necessary! I cannot emphasize how happy I've been at the turnout/response, because my biggest fear was that no one would care. It has been a long time since I've ran any comm and definitely the first time doing a challenge like this so I do welcome any and all participant feedback. Wouldn't ask if I couldn't handle it and I genuinely do consider everything.

[threewalls]

Other types of bingos: X or + patterns (where you get 9 squares completed)?

I'll probably still only manage to get line bingos but being able to keep asking for more cards after a bingo was so motivating!

I just had such a good time with the last round that I'm thrilled you're planning to continue running this.

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Oh, that's interesting! I don't know if it would work as a prompt but it would be fun to come up with new shapes. Maybe for round 3?

Line bingos are perfect! And that's good! There aren't any limits to how many you can ask for.

Yay! I am very glad to hear that. Another round should be starting soon. :D